Eastern Counties League

Division 1 North

Friday 24th February 2023

Kick Off 19.45 Actual 19.48

Heacham 2 Swaffham Town 1, attendance 298

6’ 0-1

41’ 1-1

45’ 2-1

@ Heacham Playing Fields

Station Road

Heacham

PE31 7HF

£5 Admission

£2 Programme, 32 pages.

Heacham are very much a club on the up, having only been promoted from the North West Norfolk League in to Division 5 North of the Anglian Combination League for the 2016/17 season, where successive promotions now sees them make their debut at Step 6. Their stay here may be a short one. They currently sit top of the table (P25 W18 D3 L4) on 57 points, having played a game fewer than Framingham Town (56 pts) and Harwich & Parkeston (53 pts). Even fourth placed Downham Town are still very much in with a shout of promotion, only five points behind Heacham, but with a game in hand.

Tonight was the first game under the newly installed floodlights. The ground is very much a work in progress, with two sides still to have hard standing laid, but it is progressing nicely. Unfortunately, as nice as the seated stand looks, it is totally useless, as it is set well back from the pitch and there is no restriction to prevent people standing along the rail in front, so the view from it is dreadful. There is also an angled area of cover in front of the clubhouse. Organisation for their big day was very good though. Plenty of helpers directing the car parking, ample programmes and a mobile food wagon in place. The crowd was only a couple short of 300, which included a fair number of ‘hoppers dotted about.

Swaffham Town came in to this 17th (out of 19) in the league table, but they certainly made the leaders work hard for the 3 points. It was quite a surprise that it was the visitors who went in front just six minutes in, smashing one high into the net after a corner wasn’t cleared. Heacham pressed for an equaliser, but it didn’t arrive until four minutes before halftime, when an angled cross into the box seemed to deceive the ‘keeper, sailing over his head and dropping into the far corner. It didn’t take long before they turned things round and they edged in front right on halftime, when a poor kick by the ‘keeper, coupled with a slip by a defender attempting a tackle, saw the striker control the ball and finish with a shot into the far corner. The second half kept the interest, but neither team really threatened to add to the scoring.

The journey both ways was littered with delays, adding 90 minutes to the drive time. The SatNav diverted me via the Blackwall Tunnel going, due to an accident on the opposite carriageway near the Dartford Crossing that caused big tailbacks. The return saw closures of the M11 just south of the A11, followed by the M25 being closed between J2 and J3. Just for good measure the exit at J8 was also closed, which meant exiting at J6 and taking the countryside route home. Oh the joys of hopping midweek games.

Portugal

Primeira Liga

Monday 20th February 2023

Kick Off 19.00 Actual 19.01

Grupo Desportivo Chaves 2 Sporting Clube Portugal 3, attendance 4,981

8’ 0-1 (pen)

54’ 1-1

61’ 1-2

70’ 1-3

90’ + 6, 2-3

@ Estadio Municipal Engenheiro Manuel Branco Teixeira

Avenida Estadio 103

5400-265 Chaves

€35 Admission

No Programme.

Today we left Spain and headed back in to Portugal for the final game of our trip. The 254 miles from Burgos to Chaves took 3 hours 40 minutes, but we gained an hour back as we crossed the border about 10 miles before reaching our destination, due to the time difference between the two countries. Of all the games we were planning on watching, this was the one we thought may be problematic, as far as getting tickets went. The club never replied to an e-mail, although a work colleague (speaks Spanish, but understands Portuguese) of the driver had spoken to the club by phone and had been assured there would be no problem buying tickets on the day, which was finally confirmed on the ticket page of the club website, but not until after we had booked our flights! We drove straight to the ground, having timed it perfectly (closed for lunch from 13.00-14.00) to catch the office open. Unlike yesterday, all went to plan and within two minutes of pulling in to the car park, we had our tickets.

Chaves are not one of the big clubs in Portugal. Their only honours since their formation in 1949 are two Segunda Liga titles (2008/09 and 2012/13) and they were also runners-up in the Taça de Portugal in 2010, having lost 2-1 to Porto in the final. Sporting Clube, on the other hand, are very much one of the ‘big 3’ here, behind Benfica and Porto. They have won the Primeira Liga 19 times, the Portuguese Cup 17 times, as well as 4 League Cup wins. Their sole European trophy was a U.E.F.A. Cup Winners’ Cup back in 1964.

The Estadio Municipal Engenheiro Manuel Branco Teixeira, famous as being the ground where Cristiano Ronaldo made his international debut for Portugal, is a mixture of old and new. The capacity nowadays is 8,396 which might have been tested if Sporting Clube weren’t having such an indifferent season, down in fourth place in the league table, way off Benfica and Porto and even trailing third placed Braga by 11 points coming into this. They still had a decent following though, with supporters dotted about the ground, despite having a designated away section behind the goal at the far end.

Chaves came into this in eleventh place in the table and should comfortably avoid being dragged in to any relegation battle. They didn’t get off to the best of starts here though, conceding a penalty after just eight minutes. Sporting nearly doubled their lead, but a cross from the left was smashed against the crossbar from close range, then before the half hour mark they had a chance to draw level, but the one on one chance ended with the Sporting ‘keeper saving the shot with his legs. The equaliser came just minutes later when a speculative effort from the corner of the 18 yard box seemed to deceive the ‘keeper and went in at the far post. It looked like the hosts had gone in front right on halftime, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

The second half was much more comfortable for the visitors. They had a goal disallowed for offside themselves, but soon regained the lead with a cracking effort curled into the far corner from 20 yards. It was soon 1-3, when a cross from the right beat the ‘keeper at his near post via a possible deflection. It could have been 1-4, but having been awarded a second penalty, Sporting this time missed, when it was saved by the Chaves ‘keeper. Six minutes into stoppage time Chaves pulled it back to 2-3, heading a cross back across the ‘keeper for a header that went in off the far post, but the final whistle went immediately after the restart.

We had covered 842 miles on our tour of Iberia. The return flight from Porto back to London Gatwick on Tuesday lunchtime left dead on time and back in Blighty for 14.20. Another successful trip!

Spain

Segunda Division

Sunday 19th February 2023

Kick Off 18.30 Actual 18.32

Burgos C.F. 1 Albacete Balompie 1, attendance 10,832

78’ 0-1

90’ + 3, 1-1

@ Estadio Municipal El Plantio

Calle del Dos de Mayo

09006 Burgos

€15 Admission

No Programme.

The 110 mile drive east from León took around 1 hour 40 minutes, so we were parked up very close to the stadium shortly after 15.30. We already knew the ticket office didn’t open until 5 o’clock, so headed off into the town for food. When we arrived back at the ticket office a small queue had formed, so we joined it about twenty or so from the front. The window shutters opened and people began to move. Then a lad appeared from inside the exit gate adjacent to the booth and pinned a notice up. It wasn’t good news. Apparently the game was sold out! There had been no indication of this on their website and when checking beforehand we had no concerns whatsoever. Why would we? The ground holds 12,194 and their average gate is only around 6,500-7,000. It wasn’t as if it was a local derby (Albacete is 300 miles away) or even a top of the table clash, as it was 7th versus 6th in the league table.

Anyway, we were suddenly faced with a problem, as we certainly couldn’t get to any other game now. We spoke to the lad, who confirmed all tickets had gone. Apparently there had been some sort of ‘promotion’ and all tickets were sold out on Monday. What about getting a ticket in the away section? He informed us that if we came back at six o’clock there may be a possibility of getting a ticket then, but no guarantee. Was this just a way to get rid of us? We went to the club shop. No intention of speaking to us, let alone helping us out. We tried the VIP entrance, where a girl had a huge pile of tickets in her hand, but no chance, even if people didn’t turn up. We even offered her cash for a ticket, but not a chance!

We returned to the ticket office about ten to six. There was one person at the window, being served by the lad we had spoken to. He glanced up, nodded to us and smiled. Was this good news? Yes….we could indeed buy a ticket in the away end, but only by bank card. No cash. Not a problem. We were sorted. Despite him helping us out, it gave me a reason to hope Burgos lost the game. We were in with the visitors anyway, so why not?

Again, the game was nothing to write home about. The view wasn’t great, but better than no view at all. There wasn’t that much action to see anyway. Burgos looked to have had a man red carded midway through the first half, but it was overturned by V.A.R. Albacete had a great chance to open the scoring in the last minute of the half, but it was cleared off the line by a defender. In stoppage time a red card was shown to someone on each bench following a bout of pushing on the touchline. Albacete looked to have won it when they opened the scoring with twelve minutes left, chesting down a diagonal cross from the left, before smashing it past the ‘keeper from 6 yards. Three minutes into stoppage time Burgos got the equaliser. A ball in from the right was finished with a thunderbolt into the far corner from just inside the angle of the 18 yard box.

We got chatting to the lad sat next to us. It turned out he was Austrian and was in Spain for work. He had been behind us in the queue and had heard our conversation about the tickets and decided to shadow our movements as we seemed ‘to know what we were doing’. Thankfully, we did! And, as for the game being sold out, I suppose you could say it was, if you ignore the fact that there were still 1,362 empty seats!

Spain

Primera Division R.F.E.F. Group 1

Sunday 19th February 2023

Kick Off 12.00 On Time!

Cultural y Desportiva Leonesa 0 Algeciras C.F. 1, attendance 3,508

47’ 0-1

@ Estadio Municipal Reino de Leon

Avenida Del Ingeniero Sáenz de Meira

24009 Leon

€15 Admission

No Programme.

From our overnight stay in Lugo we headed further east into Spain today, for what we hoped would be the first of two games, starting with a level three match. The 138 mile drive took around two and a half hours, the early part of which was in foggy conditions with temperatures only a few degrees above freezing. The Galician Massif mountain range offered a very scenic backdrop, with it’s snow covered peaks, but as we got nearer to León the temperature was rising nicely and it was glorious sunshine by the time we parked up a couple of hundred yards from the stadium, which is on the left hand side as you exit from the motorway and head towards the town.

The Estadio Municipal Reino de Leon was opened in 2001 and has an all seated capacity of 13,451. They never get crowds anywhere near filling it these days, although their record crowd here is actually 105 more than the current limit, for a visit of Barcelona ‘B’ back in May 2017 and Spain have also hosted three international games here. Despite being a newish build it does have traditional pylon style floodlights. To say they are magnificent, is doing them an injustice. For those of us who like these sort of things, they are up there with the very best and not just in Spain!

We headed straight for the ticket office and purchased two seats behind the goal, with the ground segregated into four sections. Although the seats were allocated, there would have no problem in sitting wherever you wanted and you were free to wander around at will. The match was 8th versus 15th in the league table, with neither side having been in the greatest of form coming into this. Goal scoring opportunities were at a premium, especially from the home side, who were really poor. The only goal came two minutes into the second half, when a cross from the right was met with a downward header at the far post to win it for the visitors. There was no obvious sign of any visiting fans to greet the goal, but perhaps not surprising for a noon kick off some 530 miles from home, as Algeciras borders Gibraltar, on the southern tip of Spain. Ten minutes later they nearly added a second, but having broken clear they were unable to convert a one on one chance with the ‘keeper. I don’t recall Leonesa troubling the visiting ‘keeper once as they never created anything remotely describable as an attempt on goal.

We were back on the motorway less than ten minutes after the final whistle, heading further east for a second tier match in Burgos.

Spain

Segunda Division

Saturday 18th February 2023

Kick Off 16.15 Actual 16.17

Club Deportivo Lugo 0 Sociedad Deportiva Eibar 2, attendance 2,786

40’ 0-1 (pen)

90’ + 2, 0-2

@ Estadio Anxo Carro

Avenida dos Deportes

27004 Lugo

€20 Admission

No Programme.

We could have done a couple of second level Portuguese games today and maybe even added a third level one, if games finished promptly. However, as I wouldn’t be contributing towards the driving, we went with just one game instead, heading north east across the border into Spain and it would certainly make for a more relaxing drive on Sunday, where we had a planned brace of matches even further east. It was just over 3 hours drive to cover the 170 miles from Barcelos to Lugo, not helped by a section of motorway being closed for roadworks, which meant a diversion on local roads for a small section. Spain is also one hour ahead of Portugal as far as time goes, but we had already factored that into our journey time, arriving in Lugo around two hours before kick off. Again the weather was glorious, hitting 25 degrees as we parked up in the near deserted car park at the foot of the hill leading up to the stadium. There was a Lugo youth team (looked about 14 or 15 years old) game going ahead on the 3G ground adjacent to the main stadium, which judging by the signage, was, or is, home to a local non-league club. We watched about ten minutes of this, in which time the visiting team scored three goals, before heading to the ticket office to purchase our tickets.

The Estadio Anxo Carro has an all seated capacity of 7,114 which includes a temporary looking stand at one end. Considering they have such a small ground, which they struggle to fill, they have managed to maintain their position in the second tier of Spanish football since they gained promotion at the end of the 2011/12 season, although that run could be coming to an end, as they came into this second bottom in the table. Eibar were fifth, just three points behind league leaders Las Palmas and very much in the battle for the championship.

Despite a mishit cross clipping the top of the crossbar, as well as missing an open goal following a corner to the far post, Lugo offered little to suggest they can avoid the drop at the end of the season. When Eibar went in front from the penalty spot five minutes before halftime, it looked to be an all too familiar situation for them. Following the goal, Eibar had an effort that hit the post, followed by one off the underside of the crossbar, but Lugo were thrown a lifeline when Eibar had a man red carded in stoppage time, dismissed following a V.A.R. review. Despite playing with an extra man for the entire second half, Lugo never looked like getting back into it. The visitors finally made the points safe when they doubled their lead two minutes into stoppage time, cutting in from the left, before smashing an unstoppable shot into the far corner.

Portugal

Primeira Liga

Friday 17th February 2023

Kick Off 20.15 Actual 20.16

Gil Vicente 1 F.C. Vizela 1, attendance 3,212

55’ 1-0

86’ 1-1

@ Estadio Cidade de Barcelos

Rua de Raizes

Vila Boa

4750-282 Barcelos

€20 Admission

No Programme.

Today signalled my return to flying, following my cardiac arrest back in July. We were on the 09.35 easyJet flight out of London Gatwick, bound for Porto, on what was a planned weekend of Iberian football. As expected, the flight was late (51 minutes), but we only had a 34 mile drive north to Barcelos for our first game, so no problem, even though it took almost an hour to collect our hire car due to it being unexpectedly busy. We headed to the ground first, where it was a glorious 22 degrees. Tickets were duly sorted and we were soon checked in at our hotel, which was a little over twenty minutes walk back for the match later on.

Gil Vicente, who are named after the Portuguese playwright, will celebrate their centenary next year. They’re not one of the ‘big boys’ of Portuguese football, but they have won 2 Segunda League titles (1999 and 2011) and were runners-up in the Taça da Liga in 2012, having lost 2-1 to Benfica in the final. They have been playing at the 12,046 capacity Estadio Cidade de Barcelos, which belongs to the local municipality, since the 2004/05 season, having previously been based at the Estadio Adelino Ribeiro Novo, which now hosts their youth team matches.

Tonight’s game was 14th versus 10th in the league table. It has to be said, it wasn’t the greatest of games, with the second half a vast improvement on the first, although that is hardly surprising. Apart from the hosts hitting the crossbar with a curling shot just before the half hour mark, it was pretty sterile stuff. The halftime pep talk certainly changed things. Within three minutes of the restart Gil Vicente were awarded a penalty, but a poorly hit effort was easily saved. It only took another seven minutes for them to break the deadlock though, when a cross from the right was knocked down and a deflected shot gave the ‘keeper no chance. They almost doubled their lead when a 30 yard free kick went narrowly wide, but they paid the price for not killing off the game with a second goal, when Vizela deservedly levelled four minutes from time, when a free kick was played across the box and finished at the far post, much to the delight of the 250 or so away fans housed at that end. There was still time for Gil Vicente to have a man red carded as we headed into stoppage time, but both teams appeared to have already settled for a point by this stage.

Central Midlands League

Premier Division North

Saturday 11th February 2023

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.02

Dearne & District 3 Dinnington Town 0, attendance 115

13’ 1-0

58’ 2-0

82’ 3-0

@ Kingsmark Way

Goldthorpe

S63 9GW

£3 Admission

Programme available online only.

With Dearne & District rumoured to be leaving this ground at the end of the season, it was high on my list of ‘need to visit soon’ grounds. On paper it looked like a reasonable choice of game too, as 3rd hosted 4th in the league table, although it never really lived up to expectations.

Dearne had an early effort disallowed for offside, before breaking the deadlock after thirteen minutes, firing into the bottom corner from 20 yards. Little of note happened in the remainder of the half, until Dinnington had a man sin binned minutes before the break. The second goal arrived just before the hour mark, when a cross from the right was missed by a defender and finished with a stooping header from 6 yards. A minute later, the Dinnington No.9, having only returned from his sin bin a few minutes earlier, was then sent off. This was immediately followed by another Dinnington player being sin binned for a comment said to the Referee, so the visitors were now down to nine players briefly. It was a surprise that it took Dearne until eight minutes from time to add a third goal, after a long ball that should have been gathered easily by the ‘keeper, somehow wasn’t and it left an easy finish for a striker following in.

The win sees Dearne leapfrog Thorne Colliery into second place in the table, although the title looks well beyond them, as despite having two games in hand on the unbeaten leaders Retford United, they still trail them by 17 points.

Essex Olympian League

Premier Division

Wednesday 8th February 2023

Kick Off 20.15 Actual 20.21

Old Southendian 1 Catholic United 2, attendance 108

11’ 0-1

14’ 0-2

77’ 1-2

@ Garon Park, 3G Pitch

Eastern Avenue

Southend-on-Sea

SS2 4FA

No Admission or Programme.

I had visited Old Southendian back on 26th October 2019, when they beat Canning Town 2-1 in an Essex Olympian League Premier Division match in front of 27 spectators. That game was played on a grass pitch that runs parallel to the 3G cage (it was partly constructed during that visit, so I knew that there would definitely be no overlap) which they now use for their home games.

It is a standard cage set up, with spectator access along two thirds of one side. The match was 2nd (P16 Pts 25) v 3rd (P11 Pts 24) in the league table, both some way behind unbeaten leaders Hutton, who already have 40 points (Won 13 Drawn 1) and attracted an excellent crowd.

The visitors were two goals up inside fifteen minutes. They opened the scoring after scrambling in from close range following a corner from the right, before a cracking 25 yarder doubled their lead just three minutes later. Old Southendian never really looked like getting back in it, but they did pull one back with thirteen minutes left, which made for an interesting finish to the game, but the visitors were deserving winners. They now move up to second in the table, still 13 points adrift of the leaders, but they do have two games in hand.

Bedfordshire County League

Premier Division

Saturday 4th February 2023

Kick Off 14.30 Actual 14.33

Riseley Sports 3 Caldecote 1, attendance 27

15’ 1-0

33’ 1-1

61’ 2-1

85’ 3-1

@ Riseley Playing Field

Gold Street

Riseley

MK44 1EG

No Admission

Programme available online only.

It was good to finally get back to doing a new ground visit where there was a grass pitch. I hadn’t done a non-3G ground since visiting Wake Green Amateur back on January 2nd, a run of 11 successive caged grounds, although I did do a re-visit at Haywards Heath Town during that run, which does have a proper pitch, but even that was 4 weeks ago.

I was limited somewhat by having done an earlier kick off in St. Albans, but I was still here half an hour before kick off, helped by the fact that this league reverted to their more ‘normal’ 14.30 kick offs today, as we edge towards the lighter nights. The game was a mid table clash, as 10th hosted 9th (out of 16). It was good to see two teams going all out for the three points, rather than just trying to avoid losing and it was an excellent game to watch as a neutral.

Riseley opened the scoring after fifteen minutes, firing in at the near post after a lucky ricochet fell perfectly for their striker. Caldecote levelled just after the half hour mark, when a quickly taken free kick caught the home defence napping and the striker finished coolly in a one on one with the ‘keeper. Riseley went back in front just after the hour, when a cross from the right was finished at the far post with a cushioned finish into the far corner. Caldecote came close to levelling, when a shot hit the post, but bounced right across the face of the goal, but Riseley made the game safe when they added a third goal five minutes from time, when a challenge just outside the box ended with the ball being deflected high over the ‘keeper.

Arthurian League

Division 3

Saturday 4th February 2023

Kick Off 11.00 Actual 11.14

Old Albanians 0 Old Merchant Taylors 2, attendance 4

54’ 0-1

75’ 0-2

@ Beaumont School, 3G Pitch

Austen Way

St. Albans

AL4 0XB

No Admission or Programme.

This was 2nd v 4th in the league table, with both teams fighting it out for the second promotion place behind leaders Old Ardinians, who currently sit eight points clear of today’s hosts, with two games in hand and with a 100% winning record so far, they look odds on for the title.

The standard was far higher than you’d expect at this level. Both teams were very impressive and it became obvious early on that it could go either way. Merchant Taylors broke the deadlock nine minutes into the second half, heading in at the far post from a cross wide on the right. They only made the game safe with fifteen minutes left, poking in from close range after the ‘keeper fumbled a cross.

This is a standard 3G cage set up, with spectator access being around a third of one side, spanning either side of the halfway line. As far as I’m aware, this now completes visits to all the current venues being used in the Arthurian League this season.